This invention relates to fishing equipment, namely to improved systems for deep trolling.
Conventional downriggers employ a relatively heavy downrigger line or cable with a heavy weight on the end. This weight carries the cable to the desired fishing depth. The fisherman employs a separate reel and line for fishing. The fishing line is releasably secured to the downrigger line just above the weight so the weight carries the fishing tackle to the desired depth. Typically, the release mechanism employs a wedge-shaped member fitted, to a tighter or looser degree, within an aperture on another member. When a fish strikes the hook on the end of the fishing line, the two members are intended to pull apart, releasing the fishing line from the downrigger line. Thus, the fisherman is then supposed to be free to reel in the fish without interference from the downrigger line.
However, in practice, certain difficulties arise. For example, the fisherman must wedge the two members together with sufficient force so they are not prematurely released under horizontal or vertical tension. At the same time, the force must not be so large so that the device fails to release when a fish strikes the hook. The force exerted to push the two members together depends on certain factors such as the size of the fish being sought. However, the fisherman has no accurate means of determining the correct force and the result is that the two members frequently release prematurely or fail to release when a fish strikes.